


Our Little Secret

by GrumpyQueer



Category: Ripper Street
Genre: F/M, Fire, Love/Hate, Smut, ripper street - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-19 06:02:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8192992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrumpyQueer/pseuds/GrumpyQueer
Summary: Edmund and Susan are surprised to find solace in each other's arms.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by the S5 trailer. I have been wanting to write a (smut free) Susan/Reid story for quite some time, and the trailer gave me the idea of where this could be set.
> 
> It's also an excuse for me to gush about two of my favourite characters, especially writing about Susan, who I think is one of the most misunderstood, unfairly judged characters on the show. 
> 
> Also, please see the notes down the bottom after reading. Thanks!

Walking through the woodland, Edmund followed the cloud of smoke which then dissipated just above the tree line, trailing off into dark blue sky. The smell of the nearby fire was rich and calming, reminding him of the home he once had with his own little family, bringing back memories of his personal peace, and place, within Whitechapel and days gone far by.  
  
Now, however, he felt himself shudder under his attempts to quash his fear and maintain composure, walking himself dutifully into the unknown. Although, not absolutely all things before him on this day were bad. Ahead lay his temporary home: a small, quaint, cottage with a warm bed and the promise of the company of good friends. And what was home, if it were not that?

After Edmund came through the door and hung up his hat, he wandered into the kitchen, following the scent and sound of a pot of bubbling soup. Though, he was surprised to not find anyone there with it, the pot ferociously splattering about, and the flame beneath it hissing back in response, unattended. He pondered for a moment, looking around the room, and then walked into the sitting room, where he found Susan quietly watching the fire.  
  
‘Susan…?’ he inquired gently as so not to startle her, watching her appear mesmerised by the glowing embers and crackling wood.  
  
She slowly tore her gaze away, turning her head and smiling up at him softly, the flickering light from the flames dancing across her face.  
  
‘How odd it is for me, Edmund, to feel a true happiness in my heart when I see you now.’

He nodded appreciatively at her kind words, smiling back at her.  
  
‘Indeed. And I am glad for it, glad that is… that we are not alone.'

‘But where is Jackson?’ he inquired as he sat down in the chair beside her, promptly leaning forward and warming his cold hands by the fire.

‘That man… that pig-headed man…’ Susan shook her head, closing her eyes in disbelief at the very thought of her husband, clearly holding back her hurt.

‘…I care not about him at this present moment.’

‘Should…’ Edmund began, and then stopped himself, his brow furrowing as he tried to decide whether he should press understanding the matter, or let it go.

He realised, however, that Susan looked somewhat agitated, appearing ever so eager to deflect from this subject for the time being.

‘Enough of my husband. Tell me, did you see your darling daughter in Whitechapel today?’

A heartfelt smile grew on Edmund’s face, thinking of the intelligent, courageous, strong-minded woman that his daughter was.    
  
‘Glimpses’, he nodded.

‘Brief moments as I lurked in the shadows, trying to get to those who can help us unravel this mess.’

‘And still no such luck, I imagine?’

He shook his head solemnly in response, his eyes beginning to water a little as he felt the helplessness crush through his chest.

They then fell silent and gazed into the fire for a few moments, increasingly aware of each other’s fragility, weary of what one should say next.

‘Did…uh…’ Edmund began, taking a sharp breath in to stall his quivering voice.

‘…did Jackson leave some whiskey behind, Susan?’

She smiled across at him, understanding the need to also numb herself on this night.

‘That, he did…’

‘But I think we should eat first, should we not?’

Edmund nodded and followed her into the kitchen, where she turned down the bubbling soup and soon handed him a bowlful, and a chunk of buttered bread.

He then watched her with a gentle smile as they sat at the table and ate, feeling grateful and reminded of times gone by where she had been similarly kind: laundering his shirts, offering him food to take back to his home to ensure he was being fed, but most memorably, saving his life when Nathaniel Dove had come eagerly at him with a blade.

It was ever so easy for Edmund to forget the other, less fond memories they had once shared when all he saw of her on this night, in front of him now, was a kind woman who had found herself tangled up in a web not that dissimilar to his own. He knew her, and knew that her mistakes did not make her.  
  


***  
  
After they finished eating, Susan retrieved a bottle of Jackson’s whisky from beside his makeshift bed, and returned back to the fire where Reid was sat once more, staring into the flames.  
  
She poured him a generous glass and sat down beside him with her own, watching him drink while a calm silence surrounded them still, a gentle patter of rain beginning on the roof overhead.

‘When shall we expect to see Jackson?’ Edmund asked quietly, hoping perhaps now she’d let him know what had caused her to feel such outrage towards her husband.  
  
‘I would imagine we shall see him whenever he chooses… that is, whenever he chooses to leave the bed of Miss Morton.'   
  
Edmund stared across at her in disbelief, unsure of what to say. He couldn’t fathom as to why Jackson would betray Susan, why he would break her trust and do such a thing to a woman he professed to love.

‘After everything that he and I have been through, Edmund… after everything we have fought for. Our son… _my_ son. And this is how he would repay me?’  
  
Tears began to well in her eyes, but she fought them back, sculling her entire glass of whisky and then refilling it without any hesitation.

‘You, Edmund… you would have gone to the ends of the earth to find your daughter, and I understand that, now having a child of my own…’

‘…but my husband? Well, he’d go to the ends of the earth only in pursuit of fulfilling his own selfish desires.’  
  
‘Susan, I am certainly not blameless, myself…’ Edmund confessed, looking at her earnestly.  
  
‘Nor do I claim to be’, she continued.  

‘But I had foolishly believed that that side of my husband had been put to bed, and sadly… well, I was very wrong to believe that such was fact, wasn’t I?’

She took another quick sip of her whisky, wincing as the liquor burned her throat, before failing to fight back the tears, hiding her face in her hands and finally letting herself sob.  
  
Edmund quickly put down his drink and moved over to her, taking her hands in his and guiding her to sit with him on the floor, in front of the fire. He then pulled her close to his chest and stroked her cheek, holding her tight as she wept uncontrollably.

‘It’s alright, Susan… it’s alright’ he whispered softly.

‘You do not deserve such treatment.’

Unable to catch her breath to respond, she simply squeezed his hand and nestled further into his hold, letting all of her withheld tears pour forth for many moments, until they eventually began to slow.  
  
Remaining in each other’s arms, they then sat listening to the calm crackling of the fire and the soft sprinkling of rain on the roof and windows, feeling a sense of peace as they held one another, forgetting for a moment the realities of their situation.   
  
‘Edmund, thank you… and I am sorry’, Susan sniffled, many tears still upon her face.  
  
‘No, no, please, do not apologise’, he smiled down at her, leaning in to kiss her cheek without much thought or hesitation.

Surprising the both of them, he then lingered with his face close to hers before kissing her cheek once more, enjoying feeling the warmth and softness of her skin, desperately wanting to comfort her and let her know she was cared for.

He then pulled back and gently rested his chin on her head, caressing her and keeping her close, feeling her chest rise and fall against his own with each breath that she took.

‘Edmund…’ she whispered up at him, pulling her head away from his chest to look up into his eyes.   
  
He looked straight back into her own and slowly raised his hand up to her cheek once more, holding her in his hands as he kissed her lips softly, before moving down to her neck.

‘You are beautiful, Susan’ he whispered back to her.

‘Beautiful and brave.’

She gasped as he continued to soothingly kiss her, thinking to herself of the many moments in which she had almost impulsively kissed him during previous occasions.  
  
But here, she thought to herself, in this little cottage in the middle of the woods, was the perfect time to confess their affections. Two friends, who had once been enemies, now truly saw the goodness in one another, being able to comfort and cherish each other.

As their kiss inevitably deepened, Susan slowly leant back onto the floor, her arms around Edmund’s neck and her hands running through his hair.

‘This will be our little secret’ she whispered in his ear, pushing his coat off from his shoulders and gently pulling him closer in.

‘Yes’, Edmund smiled, sensually kissing her neck whilst his eyelashes planted butterfly kisses on her cheek, his hands tenderly tracing up her thigh.

‘…our little secret’  

**Author's Note:**

> For this story to work, I had to make Jackson be a cheating bastard (uh... again). I do, however, have quite a bit more faith in his character and his development in the actual show, than how I have portrayed him here. I also strongly doubt Mimi would allow Jackson to do such a thing, but I decided to roll with it. I hope it worked.


End file.
